As I write this column it is a clear, 70-degree day. What a great way to end February.

What this means is that we are — for now — out of the doldrums of winter and are emerging into the beauty that is spring in South Carolina. That also means the spring sports season is getting underway.

The soccer season this week officially gets underway while baseball and softball are wrapping up things with preseason tournaments.

Before we say goodbye to winter, some superlatives need to be handed out.

I want to give a big tip of my cap to the Wren girls' and Seneca boys' basketball teams for not just a successful season, but for also putting on a heck of a show at the Upper State championships.

I realize both teams ended up on the wrong end of the final score, but both have a lot to hold their heads high about. Both won Western 3A titles and both helped set the bar high for the other classifications at the Upper State finals. Both games went down to the final second, with Wren coming up just short on a nine-point fourth quarter comeback. Wren lost to powerhouse Dreher, a team looking for its third state title in six seasons.

For Seneca, I have not seen a game end with that much action in a short span of time. After a three by Seneca to take the lead, A.C. Flora hit a three in return. Seneca then misses a good look from three and the Falcons end the game on a long rebound converted to a dunk. All this in a span of about 15 seconds. Fans in Bon Secours got their monies worth. By looking at the scores from Saturday, the majority of the games were nowhere near as entertaining. Spring Valley won its game by 18, Keenan won AA by 32 and Christ Church breezed through Class A with a 13-point win.

The boys' games were a little closer, with Byrnes beating Spring Valley by three, Abbeville upsetting Keenan by seven and Calhoun County topping C.A. Johnson by eight.

So a job well done to the Lady 'Canes and Bobcats. You both represented your communities well, played hard and conducted yourself properly on the basketball court.

Saturday marked the official end of the winter sports season with the traditional wrestling finals, and to the five wrestlers who won state titles, congratulations. To the 16 other wrestlers who made it to the podium, also, a job well done.

For fans looking to next season already, keep that list of top four finishers handy, because all but graduating seniors Logan Patterson (BHP), Jaustin Davis (BHP), Jeffery Gilmer (Palmetto), Foster Bauknight (T.L. Hanna), Matt Frey (Liberty) and DeAndre Mansell (Liberty) will have a chance to return to the podium.

While I thoroughly enjoy covering basketball and wrestling, winter is not my favorite time of year. After being cooped up indoors since really November, I'm ready to get back outside and hit some diamonds and pitches.

This also means there are roughly 10 weeks left of regular season high school athletics. While that seems like a long two months, it will fly by. It's time to get out of hibernation, to put on a ball cap and to find a seat in the stands or a place on the sidelines.